Admiration
by JungHana
Summary: She always watched him, but never for the life of her had she thought that her efforts would account for anything, but they did, and they yielded his admiration for her. RyoSaku;one-shot I love them!


**AN**: My first ^_^ I love Prince of Tennis, don't we all? XD

**Disclaimer**: PoT belongs to the one and only Takeshi Konomi sensei! ^_^

**Rating**: K+

And.. here you go folks ^_^

* * *

**Admiration**

*Pok* *pok* *pok* The fluroscent yellow ball hits the wall at regular intervals with a force that is perfectly controlled. Every time the ball makes contact with the wall, her pupils dilate by millionth of a metre so as to take in the beauty of each heaving moment. She watches with utter fascination as he swings the racket with the grace of a samurai as he is rightly called, and hits the ball right at the sweet spot, from every possible angle. His name is Echizen Ryoma and his faithful admirer, is Ryuzaki Sakuno.

* * *

The weather forecast stated that the day was to be a gloomy and a wet one, the weather itself indicated otherwise. It was a bright, sunny day and although the earth seemed damp from the downpour that had occurred the night before, the thick, musky scent of wet earth coupled with the brightness of day gave a sense of hope and a renewed determination after a battle with tempests of the past.

Ryuzaki Sakuno stepped out, well clad for a chilly day. As she walked to school, she sighed and muttered to herself, "mou, Obaa-san should have at least told me to be ready earlier! That way, I'd have had a ride to school..", however, as her eyes met a little pink sakura petal, her spirits heightened as her beautiful, auburn twin braids swayed gracefully and her brown orbs twinkled and her cheeks flushed with happiness. She looked around her on her way and gasped at the beauty of the rows of modestly built houses and the throng of cherry blossoms on trees and the butterflies fluttering by.. 'Nn! Let's make today a memory to cherish, shall we?', she thought pleasantly.

On reaching the school gates, Sakuno held her breath and took in the sight of girls and boys alike, as they chatted excitedly about the happenings of the day before, or such and such T.V. shows and so on. A warm smile graced her lips as she looked upon the school fondly.

She makes her way through the corridors and the sight of a pair of piercing golden eyes gazing intently at the tennis ball in his hand meets her chocolate orbs. Sakuno grew tense as she realized that there was a great possibility that the ball in his hand was hers and more so that it was the one which had a neatly drawn caricature of him! She nervously laughs and slowly enters the class and takes her seat next to the window.

English was something she liked greatly. Her exceptional communicative skills in the foreign tongue, or the lack thereof, did not hinder her interest in the language because it allowed her to appreciate Echizen Ryoma with a deeper insight, as she sat there and listened to Ryoma read out lines from their prescribed text book, with efficiency. One would assume that she had stars in her eyes as she indulged in his baritone as it flowed languidly through the air, but Ryuzaki Sakuno wasn't as silly as people deemed her to be. Her brown orbs twinkled with renewed enthusiasm to study the subject, and not because she was helplessly in love with him, as the tale went. Sure, she greatly admired the 'Prince', but it merely bordered on love, not hopelessness.

* * *

Evening practice proceeded normally for the regulars except for the youngest one. Ryoma persistently stole glances at the side-lines, but to no avail. Ryuzaki was nowhere to be seen. Although Ryoma won his practice match with ease, he felt fidgety as he readied himself for the next one, and suddenly, loud pants were heard from the side-lines, and the source of the sound was a petite girl with beautiful and ridiculously long, auburn twin braids. 'Tch, she's late' thought Ryoma while pulling his Fila cap lower over his eyes as he smirked cockily. "Ryoma-kun.." Ryuzaki whispered with wide eyes, surprised with herself, wondering how she could have dozed off just before tennis practice. Quickly brushing the thought aside, she focused her attention to the Tennis Prince as his second match began. Almost immediately, her breath hitched and she stared at the powerful shots that he made with the ease of an eel and the agility of a cheetah. Every time, he caught her in a trance as he effortlessly executed his dance on the courts. 'Ne, Ryuzaki, be awed by my prowess! Bleh! I'm starting to sound like Atobe-san' he thinks as he shakes his head in disapproval. With every Twist Serve, an amazed "Ryoma-kun.." was uttered by her lips and every time she saw the fire in his eyes, she was reminded of why she had come to love tennis as she does now. Sometimes she wonders if she were destined to love the sport because the young prince did not have big enough a heart to fit in all his love for it. Her reverie was broken as she heard a tennis ball whizz past the fence and land at her feet with a very soft 'pok'. As she lifted her eyes to the source of the ball, chocolate orbs widened at the sight of a smirking Ryoma. "Ne, Ryuzaki, I believe the ball belongs to you" he said and walked off. Not comprehending what he meant, she bent down to have a better look at the ball, it was then that she spotted the little caricature of him, and it was then that she could have sworn she'd never been redder in her entire life.

* * *

As weeks passed by and the Seigaku regulars practised and toiled in the hopes of winning the semi-finals against Rokkaku Jr. High at the Regionals, Ryoma had gotten accustomed to his daily routine of waking up, heading to school, stealing a little nap during class hours and heading for tennis practice and he was not pleased in the least when the responsibility of "teaching" Ryuzaki Sakuno tennis was unceremoniously thrust upon him by his 'baka oyaji', scheduled on his ONLY free day of the week, when he was planning on taking his training a notch higher. Ryoma woke up and sighed as he remembered the little rendezvous that he had to attend to, he made his way down to the kitchen and groggily wished his family a good morning and was delighted to see a well prepared Japanese breakfast on the dining table. He inwardly smiled, 'heh. Today might not be that bad after all.' He washed up and gulped down the Chawan Mushi greedily and headed to the train station. To say that he was annoyed was an understatement. Tardiness was unacceptable, he had been waiting for the girl for fifteen minutes, a girl whom HE was doing a favour, at that! After a few long minutes, Ryuzaki decides to turn up in a pair of blue shorts and an oversized white t-shirt and a pair of tennis shoes. 'Hmm, not bad' thought Ryoma as he inspected her thoroughly. "Ryoma-kun, gomen ne! I didn't notice how late I was because I was helping out Obaa-sa.." she was interrupted as Ryoma started walking towards the platform. He raised his arm a little and displayed the extra ticket in hand and said, "I was bored, I bought you your ticket". Sakuno blushed lightly and said a quite thank you as they boarded the train. On reaching the practice courts, Ryoma turned to a flustered Sakuno and said as nonchalantly as he could, "ten laps around the courts, now", he was pleasantly surprised as she merely nodded and headed off to run her laps. To this, he just shrugged and considered it to have given himself more time to practise on his own. A few minutes later, Sakuno approached him, having completed the given task. Ryoma being Ryoma just 'hn-ed' and told her to have a rally with him. Through the course of the rally, he commented on her posture and her hold on her racket and such occasionally and this didn't seem to bother Sakuno as she tried following his advice as best as she could, until the dreaded words left the Prince's mouth, "Ryuzaki, your hair is too. long. I need you to cut it off". Sakuno had heard this far too many times to keep her cool, she immediately and uncharacteristically snapped back at Ryoma stating, "Ryoma-kun, I'll keep my hair the way I want it, I don't need you telling ME how long MY hair needs to be" as she forcedly put on a smile on her face after. Ryoma was shocked to say the least as he stared at her with wide cat-eyes. He then lowered his cap over his eyes in order to hide the emotion and starkly questioned her, "What. Did. You. Say?", "Oh you heard me just fine, didn't you Ryoma-kun? I'm not so much of a push-over as you thought I was, now am I? came her sweet reply as it was HER turn to smirk at the dark haired boy. Ryoma just huffed childishly and looked away, "whatever". Surprisingly Sakuno just giggled with amusement as being childish was a side of the Prince she'd never witnessed before. "Ne, Ryoma-kun, I'm thirsty, let's get something to drink, my treat, alright?" she smiled at him and proceeded with her winding up. If Ryoma weren't an expert at keeping a cool façade, one would have noticed hearts in his eyes as he thought of how many Grape Pontas he could make Ryuzaki buy for him when suddenly he felt a light tap on his shoulder and he immediately shook his head as he brushed aside such ill-mannered thoughts. 'No Ryoma, how can you think of making a GIRL pay for your drink?! Wait, when did I start worrying about manners towards GIRLS? Baka Ryuzaki..' he internally debated as a light blush adorned his face. "Tch, I'm buying." "D-demo Ryoma-kun! I said it was my treat, didn't I?" she protested and to this Ryoma just shrugged and pressed the button for one Grape and one Cherry Ponta and flung the latter at Ryuzaki who ungracefully managed to catch it. It was a surprise, really, considering how much of a klutz she was. "Heh. Not bad, you've become more controlled Ryuzaki" Ryoma almost complimented her.

* * *

After their win against Rokkaku, the Seigaku Regulars, the Ichinen trio and Tomoka and Sakuno decided to attend the training session held in the mountains. Although their 'dormitories' weren't fancy and did require quite a bit of cleaning, the regulars' training proceeded without hassle, except for a bear-attack and such. Echizen and Momo are headed to get some milk for everyone, when an angry bull starts charging their way, only to be stopped by a boy, who looked older by a year or two, with round, dark glasses adorning his face and a bit of stubble evident on his skin. Although this man seemed a little, say, +eccentric or plain weird, the third years appeared to respect him greatly. He was the ex-captain of the Seigaku Tennis team, after all. Yamada-buchou then decided to indulge our Prince in a journey to 'discover oneself' and much to everyone's surprise, Echizen returned being slightly humbled and even said that Yamada-buchou was indeed a great man.

* * *

A cool breeze blew over Ryoma's dark hair as he sat lazily, looking up at the starry blanket until, his reverie was broken when our little Auburn head sat herself next to him quietly. Ryoma cocked his head to the side questioningly, to which Sakuno sighed and said, "the nights are so peaceful here, in the mountains, ne?" Ryoma smiled ever so slightly and replied with a small "Aa..", and suddenly, his eyes widened as he realized that the girl beside him had her hair down, and for the life of him, he had never imagined that Ryuzaki Sakuno could have looked so ethereal. He quickly cleared his throat to rid himself of the thought when she looked at him with twinkling eyes and softly asked, "Yamada-buchou is very charismatic, isn't he?" Echizen smirked, "definitely, mm.. you know I'm not afraid anymore", he said, expecting her to be surprised that the Prince was actually afraid of something, but all SHE did was smirk and now HE was surprised. "I'm glad, Rikkai doesn't stand a chance against Seigaku's Prince, especially when he's as fearless as he is. This time, Ryoma-kun, you won't lose to Sanada-san", to say that he was surprised when he heard this would be an understatement, he was brimming with curiosity as to HOW she knew and awe THAT she knew of his match with the Rikkai fuku-buchou. Seeing his reaction, "you know Ryoma-kun, someone's always watching over you, you might have thought that Sanada-san and you were alone on those courts that evening, but I was there too, and although you were crushed, it gave me a sense of relief, because you never lose twice to an opponent, do you?" For the first time, Echizen felt as though he was actually close to Sakuno and as he gently eyed her he said, "that's not true. I've lost to this one person loads of times", he gives a small laugh and continues, "infact, I've never won against the old man before", to this, Sakuno's chocolate orbs widened considerably and she stared at Ryoma for a few minutes before saying, "sou ka?" Ryoma merely nodded and looked up at the stars and sighed contentedly, "one day, I will beat him, and I'll never lose to him again. Ryuzaki, you'll be the first one I'll tell about my victory". Sakuno flushed slightly darker and asked, "why me?", "because you'll feel the same satisfaction and joy that I would", he said as he smiled, genuinely smiled at her. Ryuzaki hadn't felt this elated in a long time. Her eyes slowly widened and she stared at him with cheeks the colour of cherries and her mouth slightly agape. He steadily looked at her as she had her eyes glued to his and her hair lightly flew due to the wind gently blowing in her hair. She really wasn't ordinary looking. In his opinion, she was cute and pretty, at that moment however, he begged to differ as he continued to look on and she just looked plain Beautiful.

He then realized that his cheeks were growing warmer by the minute and cleared his throat to reduce the 'tension' and Sakuno jerked at the sound and quickly turned away sheepishly. As they sat there, trying to recall the events that had just transpired, their peaceful rendezvous was unceremoniously disturbed as Eiji and Momoshiro came tumbling down the steps, fighting over a piece of melon-bun which was now lying in between the younger pair. Looking up at the first years, both slightly red in the face, Eiji and Momo exclaimed, "eeeeehhhh?! Ochibi and Sakuno- chan are sitting so close together and they're blushing, NYA!" and "ah.. young love!", to which Ryoma replied with, "what are you blabbering about Eiji-senpai? And Momo-senpai, you're just a year older!" and Sakuno, being Sakuno just stuttered around saying things like 'i-i-i-it's n-not w-w-w-what you th-think s-senpai-t-t-tachi!', her cheeks on fire. Echizen sighed at the two bickering men and quietly beckoned Sakuno to slip away from the ruckus. On reaching the corridor, she bowed to Ryoma, when his hand stopped her, to which she looked at him quizzically. He shifted his gaze to the floor and said, "uh… we don't have to be so formal. We are friends, ne?", Sakuno's cheeks flushed and a lovely smile graced her lips as she replied, "of course, Ryoma-kun! Oyasuminasai!" As she headed towards her rooms, Ryoma whispered, "Oyasumi, Sakuno" and smirked when she visibly halted in her tracks and shook her head wanting to stop herself from hearing things and supressing the threatening blush, and continued to her room.

'Finally, we head back tomorrow. Rikkaidai… mada mada dane!' Ryoma thought as he looked at the ceiling of his dorm room. His thoughts trailed to the promise that he had made to Sakuno and to fulfil it, he had to beat Rikkai's fuku-buchou first, because he firmly believed that his 'baka oyaji' was stronger than all his opponents. His promise to her gave him strength, which was exactly what he needed right now. 'Hmm… Sakuno doesn't stutter around me… she doesn't stutter around me!', his eyes widened in realization and a smug look crossed his face, 'heh. Not bad...' and with this thought in his head, Ryoma fell into a deep and sound slumber.

* * *

Ryoma was running late AGAIN and Sakuno and the Regulars were worried as to whether he'd make it to registration in time. Distraught brown eyes looked around franctically trying to locate a white Fila cap in the mob of excited people, when a tap on her shoulder caused her to yelp and turn around, only to be met with Ryoma's sharp Chrysoberyl like eyes that seemed to gleam with amusement. "Ne, Sakuno, I think what you're looking for is right here", the Prince pointed at himself and smirked. Sakuno's eyes widened, she sheepishly replied, "Ryoma-kun! We were worried about you! Mou.. you should go register now", her face aflame. "Aaa.." came his reply as affirmation and headed towards the rest of the regulars, slightly waving at her.

When Seigaku's Tensai and Rikkai's Devil readied themselves to face off against each other, Ryoma felt his blood rushing through his veins at full throttle. He decided he needed to calm down and headed towards the soda dispenser, only to find Sakuno walking steadily by his side. Ryoma smiled inwardly as the two walked towards their destination with a comfortable silence between them. He was getting used to Sakuno, and he really didn't mind it, in fact, his feelings towards the present situation were quite the opposite. He tossed a Cherry Ponta in her direction, which she caught with surprising ease. "Thank you, Ryoma-kun! Here, this is in exchange for the Ponta!", she held out a tennis ball which had the words 'Ganbatte Ryoma-kun!, win the nationals!' neatly written on it. Ryoma was surprised that she would do something like that for him, it honestly meant a lot to him. He lightly chuckled and looked Sakuno in the eye and smiled, "Arigatou Sakuno, ore wa katsu". Sakuno gasped and blushed, it was common knowledge that Ryoma Echizen was a good looking young man, but oh! That was nothing compared to how he looked when he smiled. It was her second time seeing him smile so genuinely and she could feel her heart throbbing erratically. "Nn! Wakatta, Ryoma-kun…" she timidly stated and this time, the silence that befell the two was definitely not comfortable. Ryoma knew that the girl's admiration for him wasn't just that of a fan girl. It was the reflection of her love for him, which he knew was absolutely genuine.

This time, it was Sakuno who broke the silence, "Ne Ryoma-kun, I think we should head back" she said and he merely nodded while pulling his cap lower over his eyes and started to walk at a steady pace when, "Ryoma-kun, do your best, okay?" Ryoma turned back and was relieved to see Sakuno smiling at him. What he didn't realize then was his heartbeat quickening and the reason wasn't just the adrenaline rush because of the match he'd be playing, it was also because there was a growing fondness that he felt towards the girl. As Ryoma smiled in agreement, the two first years headed back and each braced one-self for what was to come just a few minutes hence.

Sakuno's admiration for Ryoma grew ten-fold as she witnessed the breath-taking match between Sanada and him. As he executed skilled techniques such as the Deep Impulse and the Cyclone Smash, she felt as if her heart would explode from the excitement that she felt each time Ryoma scored against the Emperor. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears as the Prince scored at match point and for the first time ever, Seigaku was Kantou's champion. After being congratulated by everyone, Ryoma turned to Sakuno and grinned and raised his fist in victory, to which her cheeks flushed and she fist thumped him. Both Ryoma and Sakuno looked at one another for a fraction of a second and burst into a fit laughter. The whole Seigaku team then decided to celebrate at Kawamura's Sushi Shop.

* * *

When the news arrived, Sakuno didn't know which one of her emotions was appropriate as she desperately tried to come to terms with the fact that Ryoma wouldn't be playing at the nationals, here, in Japan, but on the other side of the globe, in the U.S Open. She knew it was right to feel overjoyed and proud because he was the youngest player to be chosen. But she didn't think that the part of her that wished he'd decline the offer was in the wrong either. She then decided to hide her emotional conflict as best as possible. When Momo was done yelling at and pleading Ryoma to come to his senses and Ryoma realized that even though he'd be in the U.S., he would still be fighting along-side his senpai-tachi, he tearfully smiles and decides to take on the U.S Open fearlessly.

After celebrating Ryoma's entry into the U.S Open, he slowly moves away from the crowd, wanting to sit in the sanctity of the school terrace. On reaching the terrace, he spots two auburn braids and as he trails his eyes up the braids, he realizes that Sakuno was trying to hold back tears threatening to spill. He quickly makes his way next to her and looks her in the eyes as teary, wide Agate eyes look back at him. "Sakuno, nani..?" on hearing him ask her what was wrong, hot tears stream down her flushed cheeks without hesitation. Gasping and shaking, she simply sat next to him, despairing at the thought of his absence at the Nationals.

"Sakuno… daijobu?", to this Sakuno slightly shakes her head and replies, "do I look okay to you Ryoma-kun? It's just that I pictured the team winning the Nationals with you in it and now you're going off to the U.S. which…which is definitely wonderful and I'm very happy, there's just a part of me that wishes you'd stay here, in Japan…". She looks down, trying to hide her embarrassment. Ryoma simply looks at her and hands her a neatly folded handkerchief and motioned to wipe her tears away. Sakuno nervously laughs when she couldn't really point out what he was thinking. He abruptly stands up and waves as he headed towards the door, "ja ne, Sakuno" he stepped into the school, shutting the door behind him. Just before the door fully shut, however, he heard Sakuno's soft voice utter a shaky, "Ganbatte Ryoma-kun…".

* * *

The news of Ryoma's success in the U.S Open reached every part of Japan. 'It's finally time for the Nationals, ne?' Sakuno mused whimsically. She found it ironic how the Prince always earned himself a name in the U.S and she often wondered, albeit painfully, whether he liked Japan at all and this time, pondering over the matter gave no solace, for he had gone off saying no more than a "good bye". She didn't really know what to make of that last conversation. It was, nonetheless, her duty to cheer on the rest of the Seigaku Team with all her might.

The team headed to the courts where the quarter finals were to be held and utilised their free time to analyse the other players as best as they could. Sakuno too, went about inspecting the other teams' practices. It was a warm day and watching the men practise and constantly perspire made it seem warmer and hence followed the need for a cool drink. As she approached the soda dispenser, something akin to shock and pleasant surprise crossed her porcelain façade when her eyes were met with the extremely familiar sight of a boy, her age, sitting lazily on the bench with his Fila cap intact, and boredly sipping a Grape Ponta.

Ryoma cocked his head slightly and when Sakuno made no effort to respond, her simply touched her cheek with the soda can. The contact of skin with the cold metallic surface brought her back from her state of shock as she yelped and shuddered. "Chiz…" Ryoma simply said as he handed her a Cherry Ponta. "Ryoma-kun, why are you here?" Sakuno thought aloud. "Che, and here I thought you'd be happy to see me Sakuno. Tsk, I'm here because I want to play at the Nationals, of course". When it dawned upon her that he was playing after all, her face grew bright and her eyes were an explosion of emotions.  
Hontoni?!" to this, the Prince simply smirked and pulled his Fila cap lower, "I heard you, you know… wishing me good luck inspite of your evident sadness… arigatai". Sakuno was yet again surprised by the fact that Ryoma caught whatever she said to him, even in the most awkward of situations. She smiled prettily and uttered a soft "souka..?"

* * *

The word 'Admiration' has become an understatement, for when Sakuno watched alongside the Regulars, and when Sakuno watched, with awe as Echizen Ryoma, son of Echizen Nanjirouh, successfully opened the three doors of Muga- Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami, Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami and Ten'I Muho no Kiwami. He had absolutely transformed- his eyes were a different colour, matching his hair, which was no longer dark, but was green. He seemed to have remembered why he played tennis and it was because the sport was fun! Having overcome Yukimura's trap, Ryoma had straight wins. He not only led himself, but also the whole Seigaku Team to victory, for which they were titled the Nation's Champions. At that glorious moment, Echizen Ryoma had gained the title of one of the Nation's Champions, the respect of every other player in the tournament and Sakuno's undivided adoration. She swore to herself that she had never met a man this exquisite, she realized at that instant that she truly loved the Prince. She felt her cheeks heat up, but for the first time, she didn't mind showing it at all, as she smiled and fist-thumped Ryoma. "Omedeto Ryoma-kun!", Ryoma grinned and laughed as tears filled his eyes, "arigatou Sakuno! I told you, ore wa katsu" but this time he didn't bother putting on a smirk, for the feeling was too surreal for such a trivial thing.

Through the past year, it didn't go unnoticed by the Regulars and Ryuzaki sensei that Ryoma and Sakuno had a bond that just kept getting stronger. When the team decided to celebrate their victory to Takiyoki, they weren't surprised when, "Buchou, Ryuzaki Sensei, I'll meet you there in some time", Ryoma headed the other way, slowly tugging Sakuno along. "mou, hey, where are you…" she trailed off as she realized they were at the park where they had their first actual conversation. "You weren't bad that day, although your hair was too long" he teased, to which Sakuno pouted and retorted, "it's longer now!" Ryoma laughed lightly as his eyes softened and a thought crossed his mind stating that he didn't particularly mind it anymore, he quite like her auburn tresses. "You're very admirable Sakuno, indefinitely supporting all of us and unconditionally putting up with my arrogance and always working hard to improve your tennis" Ryoma said with sincerity. Gaping at him, Sakuno couldn't believe her ears, Echizen Ryoma said he admired her, she felt ecstatic and as she was about to say that the feeling was mutual, she was utterly surprised when he pulled her into an embrace. "I know… I know. That's why I had the courage to tell you how I felt without having the fear of being told off by you" he softly stated. Sakuno's eyes softened as she held his embrace. "It's almost dinner time. When do we head back?" Ryoma asked, to which Sakuno buried her head in his jersey and whispered almost inaudibly, "when it's dinner time…" Both first years sighed contentedly as they stood in one another's arms, feeling blessed at dusk and basking in the glory of the shared admiration and subtle love.

* * *

Owari! ^_^ hah. Now I can write to my heart's content! ^_^ no more high school! =D

Please be kind =) and please Read and Review! ^_^

Love

Hana-chan


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